Filling is whatever you want. Leftovers are perfect for this. Protein (shredded)/cheese (shredded)/flavorings (olives, canned chiles, sauteed chopped onions, chopped scallions, etc) mixed with enough of the sauce you're going to dress the enchiladas with to bind it together loosely.
Absolutely corn tortillas, the fresher the better. You have 2 options. Either heat about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil (NOT olive oil) in a small pan, and dip the tortillas in that to soften (about 1 minute per side) or heat the same amount of your sauce in a similar pan and dip and soften as above.
Put about 2 tablespoons of your mixed together filling slightly off-center along the bottom of one softened tortilla. Don't over fill, but don't underfill either. You'll know when it's enough. Roll it up, don't fold in the sides. Put in a greased baking dish (spray works well) that you've doused with a slight slick of your chosen sauce. Both the spray and the sauce will keep your enchiladas from sticking. Place each enchilada next to each other, like little soldiers. DO NOT put one on top of another, unless you're making enchilada pie, which is a whole other topic.
Once your pan is filled, take the remaining sauce (for 4 servings of enchiladas, you'll need about 3C sauce total) and pour it over the top of the rolled enchiladas. Don't worry if they're not all covered. Cover the pan with foil, put into about a 350° oven for about 1/2 an hour. You can add additional chopped olives/scallions/canned chiles on the top if you like, after the sauce, before the foil.
After 1/2 an hour, take the foil off, and sprinkle more shredded cheese over the top. Cheddar or Jack are the classics. Queso Fresco works if you can find it. Usually I use whatever cheese I used in the filling. Back into the 350° oven for about another 10 minutes.
Remove, let sit for about 5 minutes to firm up. Serve. I usually crema over the top as Pierino suggests, but sour cream works fine, as does even thick yogurt if that's all you have. Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro over the top, maybe a few more scallions and olives and call it outstanding.
There are a boatload of enchilada sauce recipes out there, but canned stuff is just fine (and I use it all the time) but my favorite is in bottles from Trader Joe's. I can't make it as good as they do.
General rules for enchiladas (and you can make them with a red sauce or a green sauce):
Use corn and not flour tortillas
The filling can be just cheese (queso fresco) or it can be poached chicken or it can even be a mixed seafood---recently I made the latter with a fresh killed lobster and shrimp. But seafood and cheese really don't combine well.
The enchilada sauce is pretty easy but it's even easier to buy in a can.
Dip the tortillas in your sauce, covering both sides. Add your filling and roll up like---an enchildada.
Layer tightly together in a casserole and bake at 400F.
To gild the lily squirt with a little Mexican crema, similar to sour cream.
4 Comments
Absolutely corn tortillas, the fresher the better. You have 2 options. Either heat about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil (NOT olive oil) in a small pan, and dip the tortillas in that to soften (about 1 minute per side) or heat the same amount of your sauce in a similar pan and dip and soften as above.
Put about 2 tablespoons of your mixed together filling slightly off-center along the bottom of one softened tortilla. Don't over fill, but don't underfill either. You'll know when it's enough. Roll it up, don't fold in the sides. Put in a greased baking dish (spray works well) that you've doused with a slight slick of your chosen sauce. Both the spray and the sauce will keep your enchiladas from sticking. Place each enchilada next to each other, like little soldiers. DO NOT put one on top of another, unless you're making enchilada pie, which is a whole other topic.
Once your pan is filled, take the remaining sauce (for 4 servings of enchiladas, you'll need about 3C sauce total) and pour it over the top of the rolled enchiladas. Don't worry if they're not all covered. Cover the pan with foil, put into about a 350° oven for about 1/2 an hour. You can add additional chopped olives/scallions/canned chiles on the top if you like, after the sauce, before the foil.
After 1/2 an hour, take the foil off, and sprinkle more shredded cheese over the top. Cheddar or Jack are the classics. Queso Fresco works if you can find it. Usually I use whatever cheese I used in the filling. Back into the 350° oven for about another 10 minutes.
Remove, let sit for about 5 minutes to firm up. Serve. I usually crema over the top as Pierino suggests, but sour cream works fine, as does even thick yogurt if that's all you have. Sprinkle a little chopped cilantro over the top, maybe a few more scallions and olives and call it outstanding.
There are a boatload of enchilada sauce recipes out there, but canned stuff is just fine (and I use it all the time) but my favorite is in bottles from Trader Joe's. I can't make it as good as they do.
Use corn and not flour tortillas
The filling can be just cheese (queso fresco) or it can be poached chicken or it can even be a mixed seafood---recently I made the latter with a fresh killed lobster and shrimp. But seafood and cheese really don't combine well.
The enchilada sauce is pretty easy but it's even easier to buy in a can.
Dip the tortillas in your sauce, covering both sides. Add your filling and roll up like---an enchildada.
Layer tightly together in a casserole and bake at 400F.
To gild the lily squirt with a little Mexican crema, similar to sour cream.
http://www.food52.com/recipes/6589_enchiladas_verdes_green_enchiladas